Professor
by Lunaar
Summary: A/U Emma returns to university, only to find herself getting into trouble with her very strict psychology lecturer. Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, unfortunately.
1. Chapter 1

_Christ. I'm late. _It was the first day of term and already she was late to her first lecture. _Well what do you expect when class it suppose to start at 8am?_ She cringed. Mornings were never her thing. Her thin black banned watched beeped twice, reassuring her of inevitable tardiness. Still, a cement hill was all that was keeping her from the lecture theatre, and with precious minutes dwindling it was time to run.

Catching her reflection on the approaching glass doors, the girl couldn't help but wince at what she saw. Her tight blonde curls had fallen to into messy waves, cascading down the small of her back. Sweat was trickling from her neck, only to be caught by a white cotton singlet peering out from under a red leather jacket. In an attempt to rescue any dignity before entering a room full of people, she wiped the droplets of sweat on her jeans, used her fingers as a brush and ripped the tight jacket off before opening the large red doors. _Okay Emma, this is it._

A cool wave of air washed over the blonde as she entered the theatre. She really was late. Peering around the room, there were at least 400 students present, furiously typing away, with the occasional phone out texting. Every seat towards the middle to back seemed taken, leaving what Emma had dreaded most – having to sit front and centre.

Quickly choosing her destination next to a girl with a short pixie cut, Emma began her decent down the row of stairs towards the front of the room.

"Hey, you're not too late. Our lecturer isn't even here yet!" The girl smiled warmly. "I'm Snow."

"Emma."

"Well Emma, it's lovely to meet you. This your first year at UM?"

"Ah, sort of." She paused. _Way too soon to tell the truth_. "I'm picking up where I left off."

Snow nodded, "good for you."

The class fell silent at the sound of heels clicking against the wooden floors. A woman wearing a tight knee length penicil skirt, satin blouse and a pair of black 6" pumps entered the room, coffee in one hand and a leather handbag in the other.

She placed her bag down next to the desk, before turning around and leaning up against it, causing her skirt to rise an inch.

"Welcome. It's pleasing to see the early morning didn't keep you." She smirked. "My name is Professor Mills. I will be your lecturer for this year. Throughout this subject you'll learn course skills required in your psychology degree. Now, lets begin."

Regina Mills peered around the room full of students; hastily copying down each word she spoke. She enjoyed teaching and the power that followed. The brunette took a long sip from her coffee, closing her eyes to savour the taste of the warm liquid travelling down her throat. She shuttered. Someone was watching her. Skimming the large room subtly, each student looked to be doing their work, or at the very least chatting to those around them. It wasn't until her eyes locked with a pair of emerald greens sitting two rows from the front. Bingo. The girl looked 21 at most, biting her bottom lip and fingering the blinder of her notebook. She was stunning to say the least. Regina allowed her eyes to linger the fit physique in front of her. Her skin was milky white with a few light freckles on her shoulders. The brunette arched her eyebrow, her mind flooded with wildly inappropriate thoughts. Emma caught the grin tugging at her professor's lips, _oh God, she caught me staring, look away, Emma, look away! _It was only when the blonde nailed her eyes to the desk, she realised her lip was sore and swollen from sucking on it.

Regina cleared her throat - and her mind – signalling the attention of her class. "That is all for today. Also, starting from next week, I will _not _allow lateness. If you are not in your seats by 8 sharp, there will be consequences." Her eyes met Emma's. "My email address is on screen now, copy it down if you have any questions or queries about the information covered in class, do not hesitate to email me. Thank you."

The class erupted into chatter and movement. Snow started gathering her things, "goodness, she seems like a bit of a control freak."

"Yeah. But you've got to admit, she's kind of hot." Emma blushed, realising how creepy she sounded.

"Uh, I guess?" Snow stood up. "Want to go get some breakfast? I didn't have time to eat this morning."

Emma nodded. She thoughtlessly shoved her belongings into her bag and headed for the exit. Within two steps there was another husky cough sounding from behind her. She pivoted on the spot to be met by her teacher standing only inches away.

"Excuse Miss?"  
"Swan."

Regina hummed. "Miss Swan. I'd like to have a word."

"Ah, sure." She turned back to Snow. "I'll meet you in the café down the hill, it does a killer breakfast." Snow mumbled something and followed the rest of the students out.

The theatre was completely empty before Regina spoke.


	2. Chapter 2

The silence was deafening. Emma readjusted her backpack before opening her mouth to speak - nothing came out. Regina grinned at the obviously uncomfortable girl in front of her.

"Miss Swan." She paused. Her brown eyes exploring the confused green orbs staring back at her. "I do hope you enjoy this class. But heed my warning, I will _not _allow latecomers to arrive unpunished."

"But you were late." Emma spat out before she realized what she said.

Regina let out a soft laugh under her breath, before folding her arms tightly under her chest, causing her satin blouse to pull at the swell of her breasts. Emma's eyes wandered towards the offending area.

"I wasn't late, my dear." Her brow arched as she realized what the blonde was staring at. "But I do hope your concentration skills aren't always this poor."

Emma's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, as salty sweat droplets started forming on her upper lip.

"Perhaps Miss Swan, you should listen to your friend." Before Emma could squeeze out a response, Regina turned on her heels, collected her handbag and was gone within seconds.

_Shit. She heard what Snow said_. Her heart stopped. _She heard what I said_.

"Emma – hey," Snow's voice dropped as she saw the blondes' blank face, "you alright?"

Emma nodded once before falling into a seat next to Snow.

"What did Professor Mills want?"

The blonde shifted painfully. "She just wanted to confirm what you said about her – about being a control freak."

Both girls fell quiet. The rush of the café around them filled their agonizing silence. What Snow didn't know was that Regina had caught her wandering eyes. Emma's cheeks rushed with blood again at the thought. The blonde slowly looked up from her pasty hands only to see Snow completely lost in thought. _Why is she so concerned? She didn't just get caught perving on her teacher. _Emma sighed before moving her gaze to an overly happy boy, swaggering towards their table.

"Snow!" the boy exclaimed, "I found you!"

The girl's head shot up as she heard her name. He was tall, broad shoulders, sandy blonde hair with a light touch of 5o'clock shadow. In one effortless movement, he bent down delicately placing a kiss on Snow's forehead, than glided into the remaining seat.

"Emma, this is James." Snow gestured towards the man. "He's studying criminology and law. James, this is Emma – we've got Professor Mills' class together."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Emma. Any friend of Snow's is a friend of mine." He smiled genuinely before picking up a menu to browse.

They ate with light conversation. Where are you from? _Boston. _What made you decide on psychology? _Parents thought I had a gift with people. _Do you live with your folks? _No. _What do you like to do in your free time? _I waitress at a café & bookstore downtown, if I'm not working I'm sleeping. _James erupted with a bellowing laugh, Emma and Snow joining purely from James' reaction. Emma's head fell glancing over her watch – 11.36am.

"Shit! I've got to go! I've got work, ironically." The blonde stood up, reaching for her wallet.

"Don't be ridiculous, Emma. This one's on me." James stated with a firm friendliness in his voice. "Just go, Snow and I will catch up with you later!"

Emma nodded and began sprinting full speed towards the student parking lot.

Ransacking her bag in search for the keys to her beat up yellow beetle, Emma stumbled - falling face first into the cement below her.

A sharp stinging sensation washed across the left side of her face. Slowly forcing her body into a sitting position, the damage caused by the fall was clear. Both arms were bloody from grazing against the cold concrete, her favourite jeans now torn at the knees, topped off with droplets of warm blood falling from the place of impact – her face. _Great. _

After gathering the newly dispersed items from her handbag, Emma started the ignition not daring to look back at the place were she had fall, or worse, the mirror.

Steam filled the slightly dismantled bathroom. The younger woman slowly stripped away all of her blood soaked clothes before tiptoeing into her cramped shower. Burn. A mixture of pain and relief washed over the blonde's tender body as the rainfall of hot water hit. Her thoughts strayed back to this mornings lecture. _Professor Mills – Regina. How did she know I was late? That voice. That body. In that skirt, only a few more inches up and – _There was a knock at the door. Her mind flooding back to reality as another knock followed.  
"One minute!" She yelled, fighting the pain of her wounds in search for a towel. _Bingo. _Running towards her door it dawned on the blonde what exactly she was wearing – well, _not _wearing.

Taking in the wounded condition she was in, checking her eye peephole before opening the door seemed only logical.

Her heart began to pump – rapidity. Emma's gaze was met by a dark haired figure, facing away from the door. _Regina._


	3. Chapter 3

The wet towel draped loosely around the injured blonde's body. Her back glistening with fresh beads of water that slowly cascaded from her shoulder blades down to the small of her back. Her hair was dishevelled, tied into a wobbly bun placed atop her head, with ringlets and curls bouncing freely from only just having escaped the hairbands grasp.

It seemed that with each knock of the door, the air became thinner. It made no difference how many times Emma deeply inhaled, trying to calm herself, the throbbing in her head would not desist. There wasn't enough time to run back to the bathroom to check herself before opening the door - this panting, sweaty mess of a woman was going to have to greet her guest.

Bracing the doorknob - and herself -, the blonde slowly unlocked each lock and began twisting the handle open.

The dark haired figure was no longer facing the hallway – but instead staring Emma directly in her eyes. The smile that had unknowingly crept up the blonde's face in anticipation quickly disappeared as she realised who was standing at her doorstep.

Her lips were crushed with a bruising kiss. Arms wrapped around her neck, before slowly sliding down to roughly grip her small waist. The somewhat clumsy hands than began fumbling at the knocked fabric in an attempt to remove the only thing covering the younger woman. In a grotesque realisation at what was happening, Emma violently pushed back, causing the offender to stumble back into the apartments hallway.

"What the fuck, Emma?"

"Sorry", she whispered breathlessly.

It was Graham.

Piercing blue eyes met her glistening green orbs. It had been weeks since Emma had seen Graham. She disappeared and he found her. But once again, there he was, leaning against her chipped doorframe, panting like a dog.

"Well?" he puffed. Emma subconsciously readjusted her towel. The way Graham had always insisted on touching her was comforting, but at the same time made her feel just as ill . There were no feelings on her end and only lust lingering on his.

"I have work soon." She paused. "But you can come in if you want to."

An arrogant grin stretched across the boy's face.

"No, not for that." Emma said, being sure not to have any form of miscommunication. "I finish work at 9pm – you can sleep on the couch."

With that, Graham threw his backpack over his shoulder, slid past the nearly naked woman and entered her slightly disarrayed apartment. The moment Emma shut the door, the silence was deafening. If they weren't in bed, they weren't talking. Talking was never Emma's strong suit, nor was it Graham's. How they'd come to their arrangement no one knew. They both longed company and found comfort in each other's loneliness. They met through mutual friends at a party. One too many beers and being the only two alone– it made sense, right? But now it was different. Only recently had Graham began getting more intimate, _too _intimate. The touches had always felt wrong, but the blonde's emptiness always outweighed any doubt she had - until now. Whatever was going on between them needed to stop?

"Right, well, I'm going to get dress. I'm already late." Graham nodded. Lapping up the sight of the near naked blonde. Emma frowned. "I'm going to pick up some tacos for dinner, okay?' Before Graham could answer she took her escape and began hastily readying herself for work.

No amount of makeup could cover the tender wounds on her face. _Surely Ruby won't put me on front counter looking like this_. Emma slipped out of her apartment, avoiding all eye contact from Graham. She wondered how long he'd be staying for this time.

All thoughts of Graham swiftly disappeared on arrival at work. Ruby, her slightly flirtatious boss, looked panicked.

"Emma!" she gasped. "We've been off our feet all day, I need you on front – what happened to your face?" Ruby cupped the younger girl's face, tracing her thumb slowly along her jawline. Her eyes were filled with genuine concern.

Emma shuffled uncomfortably out of Ruby's clasp and began tying up her apron, "nothing, really, I'm fine." She liked Ruby, just not in that way. "You said you needed me on front counter?"

Ruby nodded.

She was right. They were busy. Apart from a few disgruntled customers, three new steam burns and a broken hair tie, Emma considered this one of her most successful shifts. The last 10 minutes were always do or die. If there was a rush of customers there was no way she'd be leaving on time. Ruby left after the crowds died down, leaving only her and a new trainee. He was hopeless.

Emma was out the back gathering a new bucket of hot water for the boy to mop the floors with, when she heard a mumbled voice. _Great. _She examined her watched – 4 minutes until they were _officially _closed.

"Uh, um, uh, sorry," the boy was fumbling over himself, "sorry, ah, what did you want again?" Emma couldn't help but smile at how pathetic he sounded. She knew if they wanted to leave on time she'd have to go save the day.

"Sorry, he's new." Eyes fixed on the bucket of almost overflowing water, held firmly between steady hands. "August, just finish up mopping – I've got this."

August collect the bubble filled bucket and scurried away mop in hand, silently thanking Emma. She smiled empathetically before continuing with the order.

"Sorry, what can I get for – " Her heart stopped.

"Miss Swan, what a pleasant surprise."

Emma's smile slid off of her face at the realisation of who was standing in front of the counter. Not sure if what she was seeing was real, her eyes slowly lingered over the lithe form, who in fact was returning the gaze.

"My order?" The brunette questioned.

Emma's brows knitted together. "What can I _do_ for you Professor Mills?"

The older woman's brow raised on the accidental emphasis on the word.

"What can you _do _for me?"

"Anything you like." _Two can play at this game. _Emma knew it was a risky move, considering how his morning had played out.

Regina's mouth slightly dropped. She hadn't expected the blonde to say something so, something so… dangerous. Flirting with a student was completely out of the question. "Surprise me."

Emma's eyes widened at the challenge. She immediately knew what to make. Regina would not be a woman who added sugar to her coffee – cream was definitely out of the question – on her beverages at least. The blonde bit back a sharp intake of air as her thoughts became consumed with all the places you could put whipped cream on a body – _Regina's body. _

The brunette let out a soft chuckle, clearly enjoying the flustered blonde. Emma's checks were burning red underneath her professor's watchful eye, but she dare not look into chocolate browns piercing her skin.

August coughed awkwardly, trying to break whatever weird tension was between the two women. It was a strange sight. He couldn't help but notice how uneasy Emma was looking. She was usually the master of coffee, but already another two burns appeared on her wrists from the machine. All the while this overdressed woman stared hungrily at her. No wonder Emma was nervous - the older woman looked as if she'd jump across the marble counter and devour her pray at any second.

"Uh, Emma, am I okay to go? I've mopped the floors and everything." He signalled the wall clock. "Technically we're closed now."

"Yeah, sure, kid. Thanks." The pappy boy headed for the door, turning the '_We're Open' _to_ 'Sorry! We're closed.'_

It was just the two of them – alone – again.

Emma picked up a takeaway mug, only to be cut off from a slight husky voice interrupting her pouring. "I'd like to have it here." A devilish smile tugged against the teacher's blood red lips. "Care to join me for a drink, Miss Swan?"


End file.
